Life After Cancer - Cancer Message Board

angelsalive · 11-15-2004, 07:09 PM

Hi

I have been Cancer free now for 2 years although I still get checked every 2 months by my specialist. I have been wondering what life is like after Cancer. I know every pain or strange sympton I get I wonder if it is Cancer lodging somewhere else. My skin has small sores that break out on my inner thighs and arms. I do not sleep properly any more as I wake during the night and I am thinking about the most stupid things. Even if I wake 3 or 4 times I am still thinking. Then I am tired during the day. My memory seems worse since the Cancer. My concertration too. I get irritated easily and snappy and depressed. I know these symptoms can be Menopauseal also. Is there anyone else who feels like a completely different person since their Cancer.
Angelsalive

lalee · 11-17-2004, 04:10 PM

Hi Angelsalive
I certainly feel different since I had my cancer 3 years ago. I'm such a worrier. Every little ache or pain makes me worry that it's come back. Even after 3 years I'm still reeling from the fact that I've had cancer. I never thought it would happen to me, but then who does. These boards help though, as everyone is so supportive, and there is always someone willing to talk you through any problems or worries. Right now I'm still waiting for the results of my colonoscopy and hoping that I'm still cancer free.Most of all though, I'm just so happy to be alive.
Some of your symptoms sound as though they might be due to the menopause, and if you have a word with your GP, he may be able to give you something to help.

Lalee

SamQKitty · 11-17-2004, 09:04 PM

Angel,
It sounds like many of your symptoms could indeed be due to menopause. The change in hormone levels can cause anxiety, depression, severe insomnia (I used to be up with NO sleep for 2-3 days at a time!). And, of course, having had cancer is just another worry to add to the mix. Although the sores on your thighs and arms are curious, and probably not due to menopause...have you been checked for allergies, contact dermatitous, etc? What type of cancer did you have, and could they be related? If they heal on their own, probably not.

I would definitely talk to your doctor, perhaps your gynecologist, about the symptoms. You may want to consider a short course of hormone replacement therapy if it isn't contraindicated by the type of cancer you had. At the least, you may want to get a prescription for something to help you sleep. The thing that finally helped me was a small dose of trazadone, taken just before bedtime. It only comes in 50 mg pills, so if that's too much (which it was for me), try cutting it in half. Of course, you'll need a prescription and your doctor may have some other ideas to help you, but I think that EVERYTHING looks worse when you're exhausted from not sleeping, so maybe that's the first issue to tackle.

As far as the cancer goes, it was just 3 years for me, last month. I'm down to CT scans once a year and checkups with my oncologist every 6 months. I try not to spend much time thinking about cancer because I don't want to waste whatever time I have worrying...life is way to precious for that! And, after all, worry is NOT preparation! Nothing really can prepare you for the things life throws at us, and all the worrying in the world never prevented anything (at least as far as I know). I'll leave you with a little poem that someone shared with me many years ago, and which I reread whenever I'm feeling at all worried...it's a good reminder, at least to me, of what's important:

Yesterday is history,
Tomorrow's a mystery,
But today is a gift...
That's why it's called the "present".

Ruth

angelsalive · 11-21-2004, 11:16 PM

Hi

Thanks SamQKitty and Lalee. I am on the board as a surviver of Throat Cancer. I have seen a Dr and started Hormone Replacement Tablets. He said the sores could be anything from dry skin to an allergy. I feel an itch, then scratch and a red rash comes up and if I scratch it, it then stays for days and scars. If I ignore it nothing comes up..... weird. Anyway, I know it is a blessing to be here everyday and it is good to be reminded now and then when you get a bit tired and down...so thanks.
I saw a doctor the other day and he had a hoarse voice and I commented that he sounded like me and his response was Yes but mine is not going to kill me. And I said, and neither is mine.
Stay Happy
Angelsalive

lbp35 · 11-22-2004, 06:18 AM

Angel,

Great response! I like that! Hey I was just wondering...my friend is 4 months out of treatment. By the grace of God (i do believe in prayer) his pet scan was all clear.

But he is still having trouble with his voice being hoarse. His dry mouth is bad but he knows he may have to live with that. But why the voice change? His tumor was on his tonsil not the larnyx.Will it stay this way forever or is his throat still healing? Also some foods still burn his throat, do you think this is permanent? Thanks so much! God bless.